On tonight’s episode of American Idol the judges are headed to my favorite city, San Francisco. The food in San Fran is absolutely to die for, especially the asian cuisine. So for tonight’s recipe I decided to make one of my favorite dumpling recipes.

Place 1 teaspoon of filling toward the front of a dumpling wrapper. There are two methods of sealing dumplings. Pleating one edge of the wrapper gives the dumpling its distinctive curved shape and allows it to stand upright in the pan. Do this by moistening edges with water using your finger. Bring the edges together, forming a taco shape, and pinch them together only in the top center to seal. Pinch 6 small pleats (3 on either side of the sealed center point) along one thickness only of the wrapper. Seal dumpling by pressing pleated and unpleated edges tightly together, enclosing filling. Alternatively, moisten wrapper edges with water, fold in half into a crescent shape around the filling, and pinch edges tightly closed. While forming dumplings, keep remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap. Place filled dumplings on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap.

In a small serving bowl, whisk together ingredients for dipping sauce.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a well-seasoned 11-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange half of the dumplings tightly together in heated skillet, and cook until deep golden brown, shaking the pan one or two times, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add 1 cup hot water, partially cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until the bottoms of the dumplings are very crisp and all the water has evaporated, about 4 to 5 more minutes. Slide a spatula under dumplings to loosen them from the pan. Serve this batch of dumplings immediately or place them on a baking sheet, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in a low oven.

Wash skillet, and repeat process with remaining dumplings. Transfer to a plate, garnish with remaining cilantro leaves, and serve with dipping sauce.

I’m happy to be back as a guest blogger for Lyndsey Parker’s Reality Rocks blog during Season 13 of American Idol. For tonight’s cities I’m combining Boston’s love for Italian food with the spice of the southwest in Austin, TX.

Thanks for all the love for my Mac & Cheese Bites recipe last year. You inspired me to try another one. Make sure you let these cool before you remove them or you’ll have a pile of macaroni.

Southwest Mac & Cheese Bites

Ingredients

8oz large elbow macaroni

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

3/4 cup milk (I used 2% but whole milk works just as well)

1 cup grated white cheddar cheese

1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup parmesan

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chile powder

1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp panko

2 chopped scallions

1 small avocado, diced

cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain well. Spray a nonstick mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a medium sized skillet and sauté onion and bell pepper until softened. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.

Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking occasionally, for about 2 -3 minutes until thickened.

Add cheddar, pepper jack and Parmesan cheeses. Stir to melt.

Add the onion mixture, salt and next 4 ingredients through the chiles.

Stir until well combined and remove from heat.

Stir in the egg yolk.

Fill each tin with the macaroni mixture and sprinkle with the panko and scallions.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Remove from the oven and cool for 5-10 minutes. Using a teaspoon, carefully loosen the mac and cheese bites and transfer to a platter to serve. Top with the avocado and cilantro.

Happy 2014 everyone! I’ve been a bit absent on my blog lately but for good reason. Music has been so good to me over the last year and I can’t wait to finally share my new single, The Way You Love Me, on Valentine’s Day.

Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting an acoustic version of The Way You Love Me, followed by the official music video in February.

It’s also that time of year again for Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers. Yahoo’s Lyndsey Parker has asked me to join her again during Season 13 of American Idol. So make sure you follow my blog so you don’t miss out on this year’s recipes!

Mmmmmmm quesadillas! Nothing says comfort quite like toasted tortillas filled with gooey cheese, meat and veggies. So for tonight’s homecoming episode of American Idol I thought I make them extra homey with my cheese crusted quesadillas!

I stumbled across this idea online and honestly have never thought about sprinkling cheese on top of a quesadilla and dayyyyum…they turned out super tasty! The creamy avocado mixed in with the cheese, chicken and veggies turned out to be quite the delicious combo.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onion and bell pepper until softened.

Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and chile powder and sauté until the mushrooms have turned a deep golden brown.

Add the garlic and spinach and sauté until wilted. Remove from the heat.

Wipe the pan clean and reduce the heat to medium.

Place a few tablespoons of cheese on half of a tortilla and top with a few heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Top with a tablespoon of tomato and a few avocado slices. Fold the other half over and lightly press.

Heat the quesadilla on one side for 2-3 minutes until warm. Flip over and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Flip back over to melt the cheese, forming a thin cheesy crust, and repeat on the opposite side.

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus is one of my favorite appetizers so I thought I’d mix it up a bit and serve it with a zesty dipping sauce.

It really doesn’t get much easier than this. Season the asparagus, wrap it up, pop it under the broiler and you have a delicious appetizer in under 20 minutes! The lemon dill sauce is one of my favorite Paula Dean recipes and tastes AMAZING with her crab cakes!

Tonight’s Idol theme is “Then & Now” so I decided to put a new spin on a classic recipe.

I love deviled-eggs. Pretty much anything egg related satiates my appetite and these turned out absolutely delicious! I forgot to sprinkle the finished product with paprika but I didn’t miss it at all. If you end up with a lot of extra egg mixture it would be delicious as an egg salad sandwich the next day!

Place the eggs in a medium sized pot and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil then cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool. Lightly shake the pot to crack the shells.

Peel and slice in half.

Place the yolks and half the egg whites in a food processor. Dice and reserve the remaining egg whites.

Add the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of chives to the food processor.

I decided to go with an all veggie mushroom today and these were really simple to make. My only note is make sure you taste the spinach mixture after you’ve added the veggies. You want it to be nice and flavorful!

The girls are taking over American Idol this week so I decided to make feminine finger food for Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog.

I searched everywhere for cherry tomatoes and had no luck so I used these beautiful orange plum tomatoes instead and they worked just as well. The goat cheese adds an extra punch and the drizzle of balsamic vinegar balances out the flavors perfectly.

Give it a try!! These would be perfect for a wedding or baby shower.

Happy Eating!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

14 cherry tomatoes (plum works as well)

4 oz goat cheese

2 tbsp basil, chiffonade

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of cracked black pepper

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Cut a small sliver off the bottom of the tomatoes so they stand on their own, then slice the tops and remove the seeds. Turn upside down on a paper towel and drain for 10-15 minutes.

Mix the cheese, 1 tablespoon of the basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Spoon a teaspoon or so of the mixture into each tomato.

Lightly drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and top with a few slivers of chiffonade. Serve immediately or keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Last week on American Idol the contestants sang songs they wish they’d written. So for Lyndsey Parker’s Reality Rocks blog I was cooking up recipes I wish I would have thought of first!

These turned out soooo delicious and they were super easy to put together. I added some onion, garlic, tomatoes and green onions to the recipe to make them feel more like a taco. Won ton wrappers are so versatile and can be filled with just about anything. So give this recipe a try!